Anti Hero
by nightwalker-shadow16
Summary: Fate intervenes after Commander Trystan Shepard is killed. Now his younger brother Laeric "Tri-star" Shepard has to make things right. Time travel, yaoi, incest. Don't like don't read.
1. Prologue

Prologue ~ Breaking Apart

-separater-

I tapped buttons and frantically typed on the holo-screen in front of me. Around me the Normandy was falling apart. Explosions wracked the vessel as the readings on the screen I was staring at kept flashing one word: danger. The ship wasn't going to make it and there wasn't much I could do. I owed it to my fellow crewmates and the commander to fix things. This was my ship to fly after all and I wasn't about to lose it.

"Joker come on." Said Kaiden from my right. I shook my head and kept typing. He got up and left the cockpit as I continued. Others asked me to leave as well but I ignored them. More pieces of the ship broke apart as I worked; nothing could keep me from my mission now. Salvaging what I could and stopping the Normandy from being destroyed was the only thing on my mind.

It was only when the commander came into the room that I stopped for a moment.

"Joker we have to leave now." he said. I turned my head and stared at him.

"I can still save-"

"There is no time. If you stay here you will die." He said, dragging me out of my chair and throwing me over his shoulder.

I protested for a while but as e neared a more damaged part of the ship I stopped. The commander pushed a button and one of the escape pods appeared in front of us. He pushed me toward it and I nearly fell to the ground. Before I could make contact a pair of warm arms settled me into the seat. I glanced up to see the commander looking at me. His dark blue eyes bore into mine and I nodded.

He started toward me but had to grab the side of the door for support as a particularly intense explosion rocked what was left of our ship. There was no time for me to grab him and save him. He pressed down on the eject button and I was unable to speak for a moment.

"Commander!" I shouted when I got my voice back. This wasn't happening, he wasn't floating into space, there was no way this was real …

Unfortunately it was. That was the last time I saw the commander. It has been three months now and I find myself in a slump. All I can do is think about the past and how I was the one who killed him. If I hadn't stayed on the Normandy he would have been safe. Hell, if I had reached out to him a bit quicker he would still be alive.

-separater-

A/N: This is just the beginning. I am going to get the story started in the next chapter. I hope you all liked it.

R and R


	2. I New Mission

Chapter 1 ~ New Mission

-separater-

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Mass Effect games. Those are the property of BioWare and any of their affiliates.

Warnings: adult language, yaoi, incest, violence, sexual situations, and altered story line. This ignores ME 3 entirely and may only briefly mention parts of the other games. There will also be some of my original characters and some of the game characters will be somewhat OOC.

-separater-

The sound of beeping woke me. I sat up and pulled gently on my long hair. It was a dark brown and when it was wet it appeared black. I rubbed at my forehead and tapped a button on my omni-tool. Immediately a small tactile display popped out from the bottom of the device and started to process what was on the visual screen.

I carefully ran my left hand over the tactiles, discovering what was on the visual screen.

:message:

:I am sure that you have just recovered from your last mission. I have something to explain to you. There have been some rather ... unfortunate circumstances that request your presence at the Citadel. This is an order from the counsel, not from me, and I understand if you do not wish to set foot there again. They did mess things up for you after all. Take the nearest available route to the Citadel. I will meet you there in my office.:

Anderson, counselor:

It was understandable why I would rather not set foot there again. That was where it all started, at least, that's what I was told. After I was found by the Alliance military I was brought to the Citadel. The counsel evaluated my skills and then sent me off to be trained. What happened before that I don't remember too well. I have never trusted the counsel much and probably never will. It doesn't help that I am an abnormality among the race they hate the most.

Yeah that's right, I'm human, but I am certainly not what is called normal. Being a biotic isn't even the half of it. I was born with that power, something of which is unheard of. After being experimented on [which I don't really remember much of] I was given the 'normal' biotic abilities. That exposure to element zero was what caused things to go out of balance. Not only am I a freak in my own species, but I am a lot more powerful than I should be.

I got to my feet and typed a message back to Anderson. He was the one who trained me but I hadn't seen him in a few years. I told him I would be there and closed my omni-tool down for the time being. I stripped and showered. Pulling on my black and grey armor I prepared to leave the small planet I had just finished a mission on.

I brushed out my hair and started the process of braiding it. It fell past my knees in what I was told looked a bit feminine. If that's what people wanted to think why not let them? It's not like it made any difference anyway. I am a man of course, but in the long run it doesn't really matter. I have fought along side a few females and they aren't that bad at fighting.

I made my way over to the elevator and pushed the button for the ground floor. The building we were staying in was rather small, but at least most of my crew and fighting squad had their own rooms. This was rather convenient as it gave us all privacy, and with two females it made us all happy. I waved to my squad mates and got a few friendly greetings from them. I stopped near the shuttle port as my omni-tool beeped again.

:message:

:Shepard, come alone.:

Anderson, counselor:

I typed back that I understood and waved my squad over.

"I have someone to meet on the Citadel." I said.

"You want us to come with?"asked one of the females. I wasn't paying attention or I would have recognized which one it was.

"I am to go alone." I said. One of the others started to speak but I leveled a glare at the person.

"This is not negotiable." I remarked as I walked toward the shuttle port.

I grabbed a seat on the next available shuttle and left. What could Anderson want and why was it so urgent? It was a bit strange that I was to come alone as well. Normally if he had a mission for me it would mean taking along my squad mates at least, but he had told me to come alone …

-separater-

The shuttle docked at the Citadel a few hours later. I stepped out with my usual weapons strapped to my personage as the shuttle landed. I was told where to find Anderson and went to meet him. I found myself in front of another elevator as I followed the instructions I had been given to Anderson's office.

"I did not do anything." An accented slightly robotic sounding voice said to my right. I turned and flipped open my omni-tool. I pressed a button and the small device scanned the room for information on its occupants. A Quarian and a human …

"What is going on here?" I asked. There was a snort and then I could hear something being shoved or slid across the floor.

I instinctively reached out at the sudden noise and caught the object that had been moved. My arms closed around an armor clad body and I turned to the human.

"What is going on?" I repeated, releasing the Quarian I had kept from falling.

"Thank you," the Quarian said. It was a male.

"This Quarian stole something of mine …" the human said.

"I did not take anything." The Quarian said.

"You took my wallet …" the human shot back. I resisted the urge to cover my ears. Why did everyone have to be so fucking loud?

"I think I can solve this." I said.

"And how-" the human asked, but I cut him off with a glare.

I pushed a button on my omni-tool and the room was scanned again. The results showed that the human's wallet was in his back pocket. I pulled it out and waved it in front of him.

"He never took anything. If you don't wish to make trouble for yourself I suggest you stop acusing people just because you may not trust their species in general." I said. I glared at him and tossed the wallet to him.

He lunged forward and I grasped flesh with my left hand. I squeezed and then let him go.

"I am not the kind of person you want to be fighting with." I snapped as I shoved him back and away from me. I turned to the Quarian next.

"Maybe you should leave now." I said.

"I … I have nowhere to go." He said. I thought for a moment before letting a rare smile slide onto my face.

"You can come with me I guess. I have no problem letting a Quarian watch my back. You can fight correct?"

"yes …?"

"It's Tri-Star. That's what people call me." I said as I pushed the down button for the elevator.

"Alright … Tri-Star. I am called Laesaras 'Zora." Said the Quarian. I nodded and stepped inside the elevator as the doors opened. I chose the floor that Anderson's office was on and the machine roared to life.

I knocked on a door after going down a few hallways. A hand reached out and I was grudgingly unable to stop the handshake that followed.

"It's nice to see you again-"

"Tri-star right now Anderson." I said. I often times used an alias instead of my real name. It was just safer that way.

"Right … I thought I told you to come alone." He said. I turned and stared at where I knew the Quarian was.

"I told him he could come along with me. I stopped a fight from breaking out between him and another human." I said and then shrugged.

"I am called Laesaras 'Zora." Said the Quarian.

"Fine … both of you come in." said Anderson.

I realized my omni-tool was still active and powered it down.

"I see you have adapted well since losing your sight." Anderson observed.

"it was harder than I thought it would be. The omni-tool is just one of the things I had to modify." I told him.

"You … cannot see?" asked the Quarian. It was obvious he wanted to be polite but was unsure of how to ask such a question.

"Yes I am. Have been for a few years now. It's not really important at this moment … So why did you call me here Anderson?"

"I … It is kind of a long story." He said.

"Because you requested that I leave my squad and the crew under my command behind I have all the time in the world. It's not like I have anyone to go back to. Is this about my relocation once more? Is that what you were trying to imply-"

"That's not it at all. I find that you have done very well with what the Alliance gave you to work with. I am a bit concerned that you still refer to them as your crew … Is there no one who you can trust? Even if it's just something small …?"

"No. They find out what I am like and what I can do … that's what seals the deal. Once they know that they're either afraid of me, jealous of my abilities, or just hate me. So no, there is no one I can just talk to, there is no one I can trust with small things. There is no one I can really trust with anything for that matter." I told him.

He made a disapproving noise in the back of his throat and I glared at him.

"You knew things would be like that Anderson. After I escaped from Cerberus and collapsed on the 'doorstep' of the alliance there were bound to be those who would not trust me. My abilities just make that worse." I snapped.

"Abilities?" asked the Quarian.

"If you choose to accompany me you will find out." I said. A gloved hand rested on my arm and I looked up.

"I will join you no matter what I find out about you." Said the Quarian.

"Right …" I said.

"Laesaras-" Anderson started and was cut off by the Quarian clearing his throat.

"Call me Laes. That goes for you as well Tri-Star."

"In that case … you can call me Laeric." I said.

"I know this could turn into some great bonding … but … could we get back to why you're here?" asked Anderson. I nodded and shook hands with Laes.

"I think the best way to explain this is to show you …" said Anderson as he placed something in my hands. It was a package that I opened immediately. I leaned against the nearest wall as I flipped open my omni-tool. I let the device scan what I was holding and then gently let my fingers slide across the display. The tactile portion showed in braille what was on the visual screen. I nearly dropped the object when I read through what the omni-tool display said.

"He's … Trys …" I said as the object fell to the floor. The Quarian knelt and picked it up.

"I don't understand … who is Trys?" he asked and then placed the object onto Anderson's desk.

"When did this happen?" I asked when I was able to speak again. This was impossible … it's not like humans are invincible or anything but from the reports about him … he should still be alive.

"Your older brother, Trystan Shepard, died about three months ago." Said Anderson. His voice seemed devoid of emotion, but I knew better. For him to give such a short reply to such a question meant that he felt very strongly about what was going on. It meant that he had cared about my brother. I had never met Trys but Anderson told me all about him.

"How?" was all I could think to ask.

"I don't have the details. If you really want to know you would have to ask the remaining members of his crew. That's not the only reason why I asked you to be here." Said Anderson.

"That's right … what the fuck does the counsel want me for?" I asked.

"They … it's better if they tell you." Said Anderson. I sighed and then nodded.

He led us into another room and pressed a few buttons. In minutes there were holographic representations of the members of the counsel in the room with us. What did they want exactly? Well what they wanted was to make me a specter. To have me find my brother by any means necessary …

-separater-

A/N: Now is where things really pick up. I am not going to have most of the 'old Normandy crew' survive. In my story Kaiden, Joker, and Tali are the only survivors. Garris, Ashley, and the others … well you will see.

R and R


	3. II The Former SS Crew

Chapter 2 ~ The Former S.S. Crew

-separater-

After I was made a Specter Anderson gave me the coordinates of as many of the surviving crew members as he could. There were only three of them for sure and they would not be that easy to find. The doctor on the Normandy was rumored to be alive, Joker the pilot was alive, Kaiden the lt. was alive, Tali was alive, Ashley Williams was dead, Garris was unknown, and Rex was also unknown. There were supposedly others at one point but it was unclear whether they would help or not.

Joker was the first to locate. He was somewhere on Mars doing god knows what. I took a shuttle to Mars, accompanied by Laes, and went to find him. From what I had been able to find out about him … other than having weak bones he should be a valuable asset.

The ship Anderson gave me was pretty good. It was what the Alliance started working on after the Normandy was finished. Called the Valorus it was superior to the Normandy in most ways. It was also modeled after the Normandy in some ways.

-separater-

I kept drinking. It was all I could find to help ease the pain slightly. These last three months had been hard on me. Hard on all of us really, but I was the pilot. I was supposed to save the fucking ship, and I couldn't even do that.

I got a message on my omni-tool and quickly scanned through it. Apparently the former "captain" and now "counselor" Anderson wanted to tell me something. What could he want?

:message:

:Joker. This is Anderson. There is someone who is starting a search for Commander Shepard. I would like yu to help him if you are able.:

Anderson, counselor:

I snorted and typed back a quick reply. There was no way this was real. He quickly sent me another message which made me blink rapidly.

:message:

:I am not joking around Joker. I am telling you the truth. This person should be coming to see you in a day or two. Be ready and presentible.:

Anderson, counselor:

Fine. I have to at least try. If there was a way to find the commander I would help to the best of my ability. It was pretty late now, but I could at least shower before going to sleep.

I grabbed my crutches from the corner near my bed and pulled myself upright. Taking a shower was always a potentially dangerous task, just like doing anything that really involved movement. I grunted and made my way over to the bathroom. This was definitely going to take a while …

-separater-

The shuttle arrived at Mars in the early hours of the morning. I had Joker's address but it would still take a while to find his place. It was nestled in what was called "dark sector," whtever the fuck that meant. I turned to Laes and smirked.

"Looks like we will have a challenge." I said.

"I can find his place rather easily." The Quarian answered. I tilted my head to the side and then turned my omni-tool on. I navigated the many menus until I found what I was looking for.

"… and that's the address." I said as I closed up the device. I could hear Laes punching the numbers into his omni-tool and then he was walking away from me. I grinned to myself and started after him.

With Laes' help it wasn't hard to locate Joker's place. I stopped in front of the apartment and scanned the area with my omni-tool. The readings showed that there was a human inside the apartment and no other forms of life in the immediate vicinity. Good.

I knocked on the door and waited. A few moments later the door was opened and there was silence.

"Who the hell are you?" asked a voice. I shrugged and nodded to Laes.

"My name is Laeric Shepard-"

"Shepard? That's … there's no way ... he had no family …" the person, a man, stuttered out as I reached out a hand to place on his arm.

"If you let me in I will explain everything to you …?"

"Joker." He said and stepped back to let us in.

"This is my friend Laesaras 'zora." I said as I pointed to where Laes should be.

"Tell me what you know. Commander Shepard had no family as far as I know." Joker said.

"I am Trystan Shepard's younger brother Laeric. I just went to see Anderson and he told me about my brother's … death." I said.

After a few minutes of silence the other man spoke again.

"… death? So you don't believe that he's dead?"

"I am not sure. The alliance and the counsel may think so, but there is no evidence of such. The counsel told me the body was never found." I told him.

"So …?"

"I am going to find him." I said.

"I have been given a ship …" I continued.

"A ship? The Normandy was the best the Alliance had. I won't take anything less for a ship."

"I have been given a ship that surpasses the Normandy's technology exponentially. It is what the Alliance was working on after the Normandy was built." I informed him.

"I guess I can work with that. It's not the Normandy but I can see what it has to offer." Said Joker. I nodded and then Laes spoke up.

"I heard that my cousin, Tali 'zora was on your ship. Is she still alive?"

"Tali? She should be. I think she went back to her people. We all split up after …"

"I am just glad to hear that she is alive." Said Laes.

"I would like to try and find as many of the old crew as possible. I am sure my brother would want to see them when he is found." I said.

"I am sure that can be arranged. I already know where the doctor is. Kaiden would have stayed with the alliance I'm sure. Tali is most likely with her people somewhere …" Joker said and then stopped to think a bit.

"Ashley was killed a while ago … Rex died as well … Garris … I am not sure what happened to Garris. As for anyone else who may have worked with the commander at one point I think we can find them." Said Joker.

"That's what I was looking for. So where is the doctor?" I asked.

"She is at a hospital on earth I think. It shouldn't take too long to get there from here. How did you fly the ship anyway?" he asked.

"I have minimal flight training and Laes has some knowledge as well. It was enough to get us here but we need a good pilot. I was told you could do the job." I said.

"I am the best damned pilot in the Alliance. Of course I will." He said and shook my hand.

-separater-

Two months later …

I stepped out of the Normandy and patted my hidden shoulder holster. The Katana 5 I always used was there loaded with a few clips of incendiary rounds and cryo rounds. It would make it easy to fight off the geth that we had been finding recently. They seemed to be drawn to me just as they were drawn to my brother.

Laes stepped out beside me along with the Krogan we'd found a few weeks earlier. He called himself Block, and I could see why. It was his specialty, one which was very useful in a fight. He could take on almost any type of attack, weapon, or shield and still hold strong. It had saved our asses more than once.

As for the rest of the Normandy's old crew we were still looking. We got a transmission that may lead to Tali, but we were still trying to trace the signal. There was a chance that it wasn't even Tali at all. Laes said he recognized her voice, but it could have been forged. It was easy to copy voices nowadays.

There was supposed to be a colony that my brother had visited on this planet. If Trys had been here they might know where Kaiden was. If not, we could at least help them out. There was a disturbance in energy levels on this place. That meant that there might be trouble here, hopefully not geth.

I scanned the area and found nothing out of the ordinary. Laes must have noticed something I didn't because he grabbed my arm.

"Something doesn't feel right. Be on your guard."

"I know what you mean. I didn't pick up anything strange but it just … it's too quiet here." I said.

"I agree." Said Block.

We navigated our way around the colony. There were a few people who knew who Kaiden was but they hadn't seen him in quite a while. They didn't have any information on my brother either. He had saved them from some attack, but that was all they could tell me.

After getting little to no information I decided to check out what was left of the small planet. I was in the lead while the other two flanked me. All was well until a gunshot rang out loud and clear. I dove to the ground and heard the other two doing the same.

"Stand your ground until you can see the target." I said.

"Right,"

"Roger that commander."

My squad mates said. I closed my violet eyes and tried to block out all of what surrounded us.

It took only a minute for me to figure out what was attacking us. I sent a weak jolt of biotic energy toward the attacker and then motioned to the others to stand up. I got up as well and made sure to be ready to move if necessary. The attacker fired again and this time I was ready to stop the bullet.

I shifted slightly to the left and let the bullet graze my armor. The other two shot the attacker and a body dropped to the ground. I went over and knelt down to examine the creature.

"Salarian." I said as I brought out my omni-tool.

"I know what you're here for." The Salarian said. I shrugged and helped him into a sitting position.

"Explain." I said.

"You are looking for the old crew of the Normandy correct?" he asked.

"yes. Do you know anything?" I asked.

"I once worked with Commander Shepard." Said the Salarian.

"Trystan you mean. He is-" said Laes but I cut him off.

"I am Commander Laeric Shepard. What my friend is saying is that I am also known as Commander Shepard." I said.

"I once worked with Trystan Shepard." The Salarian said. Good. I don't recognize you anyway.

"My name is Kelan. I can help you." He said.

"As long as you refrain from attacking us again we shall do the same." I said.

"I can do that." Said the Salarian, Kelan.

"Let's move out." I said to the others.

As we were walking near a rocky outcropping I heard a noise. I stopped walking and closed my eyes. When a shot rang out I was already dodging out of the way. I pulled out my Katana and fired at what was attacking us. I could hear the strange vocalizations of the geth as I shot into them.

"Damn." I said as my gun overheated. I put it back in my holster and moved behind Laes.

"Out of ammunition?" he asked.

"No just need to bring more weapons next time. I can fight from back here." I said.

"Good luck commander." He said and continued to fire at the geth. I smirked and felt sparks of biotic energy travel down my arms.

I collected the energy in my hands and stepped a few feet back. I thrust my arms forward and let the energy take the nearest geth down. I did this a few times until I could no longer hear any active geth.

"That's all of them." I said as I pulled my gun out and slipped in another clip.

"I think that's all of them." Laes said.

"Get down!" Kelan said as he grabbed my arm. I was pulled to the ground and shielded by his body on top of mine.

"What-" I started and then shut my mouth. I could hear Block and Laes shooting at the attacker, a geth, by the sound of it. I sighed and removed myself from under the Solarian.

When the geth was down I got up and turned to Kelan.

"Next time let me take care of myself unless it's absolutely necessary." I snapped.

"I am sorry comm-"

"It's fine. You just need to know that I can take care of myself. Just because I am a year younger than my brother it does not make me any less capable." I said.

"I understand-"

"Do you? Will you still come with us when you find out what I am really capable of?" I snapped, my biotics jumping to life with my emotions.

"I …"

"Tell me you understand when you have seen that. How can I be sure that you won't turn on me when you find out?" I said, still using the same tone.

"I would never-"

"Don't make any promises you cannot keep. Let's go." I said as I started walking again.

We fought more geth and even a few Veran. It was easy to see that they were trying to take over this colony. They were just taking the areas that the humans did not use first. That way they would have a place to go in case the colonists proved harder to kill than they thought.

It was during one of those fights that I found an unfamiliar person beside me. I shrugged and fired off a few rounds into some nearby geth. When they were all dead I turned to the other person.

"Who are you?" I asked. There was no answer for a few minutes.

"My name is Kaiden. I …"

"Kaiden? As in Lt. Kaiden?" I asked.

"Yes …"

"I have been looking for you."I said.

"Looking for me?"

"I am Commander Laeric Shepard-"

"Shepard? He never had any family …"

"I am Trystan Shepard's younger brother. Myself and what is starting to become my crew and squad are looking for him." I said.

"He's dead. There is nothing to look for." Said Kaiden.

"Do you really believe that Alenco?" asked a voice in my ear.

"Valorus would you like to speak to him?" I asked into the earpiece.

"Sure why not? It's not like I can do any more damage to him." Came the response. I vaguely remembered Joker mentioning that Kaiden didn't like him right now but pushed that thought to the back of my mind.

I flipped open my omni-tool and typed in a few commands. Joker's voice spoke through the small device.

"Alenco do you really believe the commander is dead? The body was never found."

"Joker? It's funny that you mention the commander's death considering you were the one who killed him. If you hadn't-"

"I …" Joker said.

"Both of you shut up. If you have problems working together get over it. We are going to find my brother regardless of your quarreling. If you don't want to find him you can stay here Kaiden." I said coldly. He was silent a moment and then spoke once more. I gripped Laes' arm to keep from getting violent. That would not be good right now, and Laes had a calming effect on me most of the time.

"I will help. I cannot say that I will be able to be civil to Joker though."

"Fine. I expect to see no fighting on my ship. If either of you jeopardise the mission by doing so I will have both of you put into a room with me. The reason that's threatening …" I said with a smirk.

"Threatening?" both the lt.'s asked. I pressed a button so that what I was about to do could be measured by my omni-tool and sent to Joker.

I let the biotic energy flow through my body and I was sure that I was glowing a blue-ish violet color. The omni-tool was surely flashing and trying to take down the measurements of power. I could hear Kaiden take a shuddering breath and the others did the same. They could surely feel my power just as the machine could sense it.

I snickered as I let the machine record what it picked up. The readings were pretty much off any chart that had ever measured biotics before. Even with Kaiden's biotics he would have trouble dealing with my level of power.

"If either of you fuck things up you will have to answer to that power." I said.

"Right …"

"Sure commander."

They both said at the same time. I shrugged and started walking. When I couldn't hear the others behind me I turned around.

"Move out." I said.

-separater-

It was a few weeks later that things got interesting. Joker and Alenco fought very little, but it was obvious Kaiden still hated Joker. I didn't understand his reasoning. My brother was obviously trying to make sure that all of his crew got off the ship safely. Joker's reluctance to leave the ship was surely not the main reason that he was killed or just lost in space.

We were in the middle of a mission that Anderson had told me about. We were to locate an Asari on the planet where the Thorean had been discovered. The Asari was called Shiala. She might know something about my brother, for she had kept in contact with him for some time after he cut her loose from the mind controlling plant.

We had just found her when something went wrong. I started to get a migraine around the old Exogeni building. I felt like I was being drawn to it. Laes tried to stop me but it was too late when he finally caught up to me.

I followed whatever was pulling me and ended up in a room with vines on the floor. There was no time for me to scan the area. There was this concentration of strange energy and then I passed out. My consciousness faded quickly and I could no longer feel anything.

-separater-

I had felt strange since we arrived here. This place just felt wrong. It wasn't like it was too quiet or anything, it was more this feeling of unease. I hope that it passes quickly. I am a bit worried about Laeric. He seems to be getting more migraines than usual here.

I stood in the room where the Asari was and watched the others talking. Kaiden obviously remembered her. He was talking animatedly to her as I glanced around the room. It was rather plain, but it was clean and decorated tastefully. This is where Shiala decided to live?

It had been more than fifteen minutes since Laeric told me he was going to do some exploring by himself. I was starting to worry about him. He was usually pretty quick about exploring. If he was going to take longer than about ten minutes he usually sent one of us a message. It was a system that we all took up, and was very useful when we had to separate during missions.

There had been no message from him yet. I cleared my throat and looked at the others.

"I am going to look for Laeric. It has ben too long since he left." I said.

"I will come with you." Said Alenco. I nodded and started off.

I stopped and scanned the building. There was a high concentration of biotic energy near the basement of the building. I descended the nearest staircase with Kaiden hot on my heels. When I found him he was surrounded by a strange glowing mist.

I scanned it and found out it was left over from the Thorean. Trystan had killed it but there was something left behind. Radioactive material to be exact. I wasn't able to see him, but I could sense his energy. It was fluxuating, something which was not good.

In the case of Laeric this was a bad sign. He had trouble controlling his biotics sometimes, and this was a sure sign that he was having some difficulty. I stepped forward but Kaiden's hand on my arm made me stop. I turned and growled at him. I ripped my arm from his grasp and continued forward.

By the time I was able to see anything other than mist he was gone. There was just his small lighter left behind.

"Laeric!" I shouted as I gently picked up the lighter and pocketed it. How had this happened?

One last scan of the building told me he was gone.

"Where do you think he is?" asked Kaiden. I shook my head and walked out of the room. The others needed to know what happened. After a few moments the lt. followed me.


End file.
